Money Minute: Citigroup Customers Await Big Mortgage Relief

Filed under: Technology, Citigroup, Market News, Internet, Telecommunications

If you have a mortgage serviced by Citigroup you could be eligible for some mortgage relief.

Citigroup (C) has agreed to pay $7 billion to settle charges it misled investors about the quality of its mortgages before the financial crisis. Of that amount, $2.5 billion is going to consumers. The money is being doled out in a variety of ways. There will be loan modifications, refinancing available to lower interest rates and assistance on down payments and closing costs for those negatively impacted by Citi. Marketwatch reports roughly 1 million customers will be eligible for some kind of assistance and Citigroup will contact you if you are.

The Federal Communications Commission is getting an earful on the issue of "net neutrality." The regulatory body has received more than 677,000 comments about whether broadband companies should be allowed to give preferential treatment to content providers. At issue is whether some sites will be able to transmit their content faster than others. No one seems happy with the current proposal that seeks to enforce net neutrality but has loopholes that would allow for preferential treatment. All seem to agree that Internet freedom is an increasingly important conversation to have.

Stocks rallied on Wall Street on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) breaking past its record and then retreating again. By day's end, the Dow was up 111 points, the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) had picked up 25 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) had gained 9 points.

Atlantic City is having a string of bad luck. The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino just announced it is shutting its doors around Sept. 16. That likely means job losses for more than 1,000 employees. This is just the latest establishment to close in the resort town this year. The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel went out of business and fired 1600 workers last January and the Revel Casino Hotel might have to let 3100 employees go next month if it can't find a solution to its bankruptcy problems. The gambling mecca has struggled with competition from other casinos closer to New York City and Philadelphia, which have opened in recent years.

And finally, 3-D printers are going mainstream. MakerBot, one of the first companies to come out with relatively low cost 3-D printers, is teaming up with Home Depot (HD). The retailer has just launched a pilot project in 12 of its stores that seeks to entice more do-it-yourself types through demonstrations that show what makerbots can make. The printers and scanners will be sold online and at Home Depot stores in California, New York and Illinois. But the devices don't come cheap. They retail for $800 to $2,900.

-Produced by Karina Huber.

 

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